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SRAM Awards $200,000 to Bikes Belong

Published January 13, 2009

CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN)—The SRAM Cycling Fund will make a $200,000 donation this year to the Bikes Belong Coalition to develop an unprecedented broad-based political network of Americans who ride bikes and support government investment in bicycle facilities.

Bikes Belong, located in Boulder, Colorado, will work to develop this network of hundreds of thousands of individuals in partnership with America Bikes—the national coalition of eight leading national cycling non-profit groups.

This is the third in a series of awards made by SRAM’s Cycling Fund, which was created on September 30, 2008. During the next five years, the Fund plans to award $10 million in grants to support committed national advocacy efforts that enhance cycling infrastructure, safety and access.

“Powerful grassroots support will help bicycling become safer, more convenient, and more appealing nationwide,” said Stan Day, president and chief executive officer of SRAM Corporation. “Tim Blumenthal and his team at Bikes Belong are uniquely capable of creating a national voice for cycling in America, and we are convinced they will succeed.”

“This is the most important year yet for federal bicycling funding with a new transportation bill, the economic stimulus package, and climate change legislation,” said Bikes Belong executive director Tim Blumenthal. “SRAM’s generous support will help us develop a powerful campaign to get individual Americans to speak up for bike funding and its many tangible health, economic and lifestyle benefits.

“We plan to adapt many of the database, networking and fundraising techniques that were used so successfully by the Obama campaign,” Blumenthal said. “Our goal is to engage hundreds of thousands—ideally millions—of Americans. We want people who support cycling to join the movement and contact their U.S. senators and representatives to encourage increasing the federal investment in bicycling.”

Information about the SRAM Cycling Fund can now be viewed at its new Web site, www.sramcyclingfund.org. The site features an overview of the program, the history, and a section dedicated to tracking the grants approved and updates.